S.Rajam’s (Music Appreciation notes)

Saturday, 16 December 2017

Shaik Dawood

Birthdays & Anniversaries

16.12.1916

Shaik Dawood was born in Sholapur on 16 December 1916. His
prodigious talent in rhythm at the age of three compelled his
father, Hashim Saheb, to buy him a tasha (kettledrum) to play
with. At eight, he started learning the rudiments of tabla from Anna Maharaj.
Ameer Qawwal, who owned a qawwali group, took him as a tabla player and
simultaneously initiated him into vocal music. Destiny brought Dawood to a
concert where he was completely mesmerised by the tabla of Mohammad
Khasim, a highly reputed tabla maestro from Sholapur, a zamindar
and a patron of classical and Sufi music. Khasim Saheb’s acceptance
of Dawood as a student was a life-changing event for the lad. Over the next
decade, Dawood learnt from him traditional classical tabla with its full range
of kaidas, relas, chakradhars, gats and the art of
accompaniment. He was also taught the rare technique of playing
laggi using the thumb to render gamakas on the dagga.

Khasim’s house was always a resting place
for any great musicians journeying between Mumbai and Hyderabad.
They performed at his house while he accompanied them
on the tabla. Observing young Dawood’s dedication, hard work
and commitment, Mohammad Khasim gradually started asking him to
accompany the visiting musicians. Dawood did full justice to his
guru’s faith, sharing the stage with these icons, impressing everyone
with his art of unobtrusive accompaniment and humble demeanour despite the
acclaim and appreciation he received. This was to become his hallmark in
professional circles later in life. By the early 1930s, Dawood, although in his
teens, was already the preferred accompanist for some of the biggest names in Hindustani
music like Abdul Karim Khan, Faiyaz Khan, Bhaskarbua Bakhle, Sawai Gandharva
and Wajid Khan. With concerts becoming frequent in Hyderabad,
Roshan Ali Mooljee, the producer of Deccan Radio, persuaded Dawood to shift his
base to Hyderabad and join him as a staff artist. This opened a new
chapter in Dawood’s life.